Back in January we announced our new Associate Company Programme for 2026- 2027, showing our significant commitment to long-term artist development and platforming LGBTQ+ and women-led work. The inaugural Associate Companies comprise of Ballet Queer and ThisEgg with their practices reflecting the values of our venue and the communities we serve. We caught up with Ballet Queer’s founder and Artistic Director, Jonathan Watkins on all things Ballet Queer and what this latest phase in our partnership with the company means to them.

Hi Jonathan! Can you introduce yourself and your role at Ballet Queer. 

I am Jonathan Watkins, A Yorkshire born, London grown and Hackney living Choreographer, who is the Artist Director of Ballet Queer.  

Ballet Queer is the UK’s first LGBTQ+ ballet company. Can you tell us a bit about how it was formed and what queerness brings to your work in dance? 

I launched the company in 2023 to ask questions about the many possibilities to queer this traditional artform. To lead with these through a variety of projects that collaborate with professional and non-professional artist to engage with Ballet. We are most interested in the way our LGBTQ+ experiences and identities can create thought-provoking new work.  

Ballet Queer has just been announced as one of Shoreditch Town Hall’s inaugural Associate Companies, why is this partnership important to you and how do you think the programme will benefit your work as a company?   

This association with Shoreditch Town Hall is vital for the development of our company and we are so grateful to be one of the first. After working together over the past few years, we now take this opportunity to base most of our upcoming creative activity in these wonderfully diverse spaces and historically intriguing venue.  

Image: Ballet Queer Rehearsal (Photography by ASH)

This isn’t your first time working with Shoreditch Town Hall, can you tell us a bit more about your previous relationship with the Town Hall?  

We have loved being in the building, whether in the Council Chamber, inviting over 70 people to participate in one of our workshops for people with no formal dance training. The Ditch and Assembly Hall filming our dance film: This Is How I Move: Naia. Or in the Large Committee room rehearsing for what will be our first public performance.  

Can you tell us a bit about the film and why it’s important?

The film was the first in our series This Is How I Move. It is a response to where Naia, the featured artist is with her transition journey at the time of filming. The film is in three parts, with the first being restricted and confronting, the second moving through breath and meditation, and the final scene is of abundance and flow. This was important as a company to launch this series and tell Naia’s story through this medium and made more poignant to launch it for Trans Awareness Week. We want to continue this series to include different perspectives that examine how different people move and what that looks and feels like.  

Image: The Queer History of Us (Photography by ASH)

During your time as an Associate Company, what kinds of work, activities, or collaborations should audiences expect from Ballet Queer? 

We will be leading a Workshops series for participants with no formal training, that we hope will be the foundation of creating a future new work. We will be working on our first ever show, Some Queer History of Us which is a manifesto of the company live on stage. Artistic development for other choreographers and artists to start making work is also a key part of what we want to be doing.

Some Queer History of Us is in development, could you tell us about the show, how it’s grown over the rehearsal/choreographing period and what you feel it could bring to audiences? 

It is a journey through the dancers’ lives, from when they started, through training, professional life and into their time now with Ballet Queer. We wanted to create a show that is the manifesto of the company in live form. It has gone through a lot of different stages of development and very much depends on the artists involved.  So far, we have had a great, deep, and emotional response to the show. Audiences not from the dance world have been drawing parallels with their own experiences, for example with their own school and professional lives. It reflects perhaps the baggage we all carry through our own journeys that we gather from the things that happen to us.   

This is a time for being especially creative, navigating performance and funding in the arts. How is Ballet Queer navigating this current landscape?

We are trying to be as flexible as possible and applying for different kinds of financial support. As we are young and small company, we can be project based and employ freelancers for the creative period needed for each activity. We have been so grateful for the work we have done behind the scenes with the team at Shoreditch Town Hall and we couldn’t have got this far without them.

What are some of your goals for the next year, and how does the associate artist position support these? 

We want to pursue our four prongs of creative activity for this next wave of the company’s development. The Associate Company position is the anchor we need to make this work happen and we also want to carry on developing our presence and audiences in the area

Do you have a favourite corner or space in Shoreditch Town Hall? 

I personal love the back stairs with the More Light More Power stain glass window, on a sunny day with the light coming in as I walk up it inspires me and makes me happy to be working in the building.

You can find out more about our Associate Companies Programme by clicking here.
You can follow Ballet Queer’s work on Instagram by clicking here.

Image: Jessica Lily Photography

Main Image: Flavia Fraser-Cannon